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Methods For Computer And Monitor Disposal?
po_boy asks: "given the recent law passed in Massachusetts, which prevents people from just throwing away old computers and monitors, I was wondering what some of the alternative ways of disposing old hardware are. Ideally, I'd like to be able to help an organization by giving them my old hardware, but I understand that I hold on to my hardware so long and cannibalize it so much that often it is of no use to anyone when I no longer want it. What, then, is the best way to dispose of my hardware in order to ensure that it will be at least recycled if not re-used?"
- A.P.
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"One World, one Web, one Program" - Microsoft promotional ad
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
Really, you have to realize that the way you've framed your question (via your behavior) precludes getting what you would consider a useful answer. Correct me if I'm wrong, but in essence you're asking, "Is there anyone out there that will take used-up husks of my computer gear after they are so old or stripped that they have negative economic value?"
The answer to that question is that no one is going to take that sort of equipment. This is one reason the Microsoft/Intel upgrade merry-go-round ticks me off - the very structure of the industry guarantees that you will have to simply throw away your current computer and most if not all of its peripherals in a few years. (One of the reasons I buy really cheap computers, but fairly nice printers and monitors.)
Anyway, the only thing you can do is throw it away. As a previous poster pointed out, even that can be problematic in many areas. Fortunately, even with the Loony Left running Austin and imposing Public Waste policies worthy of the KGB on us, you can still throw away *anything* as long as it's in your city-supplied trash can. There's a huge list of things they say they won't take (rocks, and construction debris, for instance), but if you can get it into the trash can, it all just disappears. You can throw away anything that will fit in the trash can with no trouble at all: mercury, radioactive iodine, Plutonium powder, anything, just so long as it's in the official, approved pay-as-you-throw container. With the rates they charge for trash service here, I don't feel even a little bit guilty about throwing away anything I can manage to stuff in the can.
Austin's policy is incredibly stupid, though - if you were trying to build a policy that provided the maximum incentive possible for people to just dump crud into the canyons, you couldn't do any better than the policy the city has. I know a lot of people that find it cheaper and easier to dump (especially things like trimmed branches and grass clippings, which are really hard to get rid of) than put up with the city's restrictions. Sad, really.
"The future's good and the present is nothing to sneeze at." - Roblimo's last
Yeah, but see, here in Texas, the resulting puddle of reacting metal would melt down, creating a vertical hole in the ground, something we normally have to pay $$$ for, so that's not a bad side effect after all... [grin]
"The future's good and the present is nothing to sneeze at." - Roblimo's last
get rid of it - somebody will take it!
"It's tough to be bilingual when you get hit in the head."
You all heard of FreeBoxen.
WWW.Freeboxen.com
you put your stuff up, and the buyer usually pays
s&h.
Just thought I'd let ya's know